LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced Monday the election of 75 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting.

The six newly-elected Chinese American regular members are Yang Chai, professor in Craniofacial Biology, University of Southern California; Ying-Hui Fu, professor of the Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco; Linda M. Liau, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Los Angeles; Xihong Lin, chair and professor of Biostatistics and statistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Xiaobin Wang, professor and director of Center on Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and professor of pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Children's Center, Baltimore; King-Wai Yau, professor of neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Gabriel Matthew Leung, professor of Population Health and dean of medicine with University of Hong Kong was elected as an international member of the NAM.

Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine in the United States.

"This distinguished and diverse class of new members is a truly remarkable set of scholars and leaders whose impressive work has advanced science, improved health, and made the world a better place for everyone," said NAM President Victor J. Dzau.

"Their expertise in science, medicine, health and policy in the United States and around the globe will help our organization address today's most pressing health challenges and inform the future of health and health care," Dzau said.

New members are elected by current members. The newly elected members bring NAM's total membership to 2,178 and the number of international members to 159.

Established originally as the Institute of Medicine in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the NAM addresses critical issues in health, science, medicine and related policy, and inspires positive actions across sectors.